Holiday Interlude: Ryuzaki Sakuno
by yvie
Summary: During the summer holidays, Sakuno met a strange boy with pale hair and pale eyes. A crossover story where Sakuno met Auel Neider and they became friends of a sort.
1. The Boy with Pale Eyes

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis and Gundam Seed Destiny_

**Holiday Interlude**

**Chapter One: The Boy with Pale Eyes**

Ryuzaki Sakuno walked down the street on a lovely sunny day. It was the holidays and she was staying at the Yukimura household.

That day, Miyu had to go and visit some relatives on behalf of her family. Yukimura had tennis practice and was at school. Therefore, Sakuno had the whole day to herself.

She walked down the street looking at whatever pleased her and enjoyed getting to know this place she now called home.

The weather was beautiful and she hummed quietly to herself. Suddenly she noticed a commotion up front. It was at an ice-cream stand that she would go sometimes with Miyu.

She quickened her steps and went to find out what was happening, curiosity being a female curse.

She reached the stand and saw that it was a boy arguing with the man behind the counter. The boy looked like a foreigner with his light hair and eyes.

It seemed as if the boy tried to pay with foreign money and the man did not accept it.

He also accused the boy of trying to fool him with false money because how could he tell if the foreign currency was real or not.

There were other people around, watching and no one came forward to help.

Sakuno felt sorry for the boy and besides, the boy was not even speaking a foreign language. She could understand what he was saying because he spoke very clear Japanese.

Sakuno normally stayed away from conflicts but since leaving Tokyo, she found that she had gained a bit of backbone and she stepped forward.

She said in a soft voice, "A-ano…"

No one heard her and she spoke louder, "Ano, let me pay for him."

The two arguing people stopped and looked at her. The boy frowned and glared at her, "I don't need your help!"

However, the man gratefully said, "That would be great, thank you. He was interrupting business."

The boy was annoyed and said again that he did not need the help but the man said, "Then do you want your ice-cream?" The boy was taken aback and he reluctantly nodded.

He did not have any Japanese currency because he was visiting with other people and he left his purse with them at the hotel.

He had woken up early and went out to explore but he had gotten lost and he was now hungry. He searched his pockets and had found only foreign money.

He thought that it would not matter but now, he knew better. The man accepted the money Sakuno handed him and gave the boy his ice-cream.

The boy did not want to take it but he really wanted the ice-cream so he took it grudgingly and walked away from the stand, licking it.

Sakuno did not think and walked away with him.

The boy glared at Sakuno when he saw her following him, "Hey, I didn't ask for your help and I'm not going to pay you back!"

Sakuno was surprised, "Huh? I-I wasn't going to ask you to pay me back…"

The boy looked disbelieving and Sakuno continued hesitantly, "I-I thought… eh…"

The boy got annoyed at her timid tone of voice and interrupted, "What? Speak up! I can't hear you!"

Sakuno burst out, "I-I thought that you might need help!" They were both surprised at her outburst.

Sakuno blushed and turned to go, mumbling, "S-sorry, I guess I was too nosy…"

The boy caught at her wrist, "Wait!" Sakuno turned to look at him. She did not expect him to detain her.

He smiled winningly, an innocent smile that should have been suspicious because it was so innocent. Sakuno, of course, did not think of that and smiled back without thinking.

The boy announced, "I'm hungry."

888888

Sakuno watched as the boy wolfed down the hamburger and fries at a ferocious rate.

She sipped her chocolate milkshake quietly, wondering who this boy was.

He looked to be about her age or maybe a bit younger, she guessed and also looked quite cute. She wondered if he was visiting Japan or if he just moved here. She was glad that he spoke Japanese because her English was not very good and she did not know any other language.

When the boy finished eating, he leaned back and sighed happily.

He looked so contented that Sakuno giggled. He immediately turned defensive and growled, "What's so funny?"

Sakuno was taken aback by his abrupt change in attitude, "Ah, I-I just thought you looked contented... with the food, I mean."

The boy blinked, "Oh, that, yeah, thanks." He was back to being normal again, meaning that he was not aggressive now.

Sakuno was relieved and wondered if she got herself into trouble. However it would be very bad of her to try and leave him by himself now. Therefore, she got up her courage and asked, "Eh… ano… what do you want to do now?"

The boy looked at her and said, "I don't know. I'm actually lost."

Sakuno looked distressed because to her, being lost was a very nasty thing, despite her wide experiences in being lost.

She said, "Oh no, where's your family? Do you have their phone number? I can lend you my phone if you want? Oh dear, they must be very worried about you!"

She totally forgot that she was speaking to a boy who looked to be about her age and started to see him as a little child who needed care and guidance. The boy did not seem to care either way.

He said, "Worry? No, they wouldn't worry about me. They know that I can take care of myself. If it was Stellar who was lost, then they would be worried.

She spaces out so much that she fell from a cliff once when we were by the ocean. It scared the hell out of everyone, especially Shinn."

He did not seem to notice that his companion did not know the people he was talking about and went on, "It was actually quite funny. Everyone was panicking because Shinn just went and jumped after her.

Sting was cursing and Neo was talking on the phone to get a boat because there was no other way to get down to the ocean where they fell. It was a really long way down and Stellar couldn't swim.

Well, kaasan was worried too and I didn't like that but on the whole, it was really funny." ('Kaasan' is a shortened form of 'okaa-san', like 'mum' for 'mummy')

Sakuno was confused now. She sifted through what she heard and came up with, "A-re? Someone fell from a cliff and another person jumped after her and you found it funny? Are these people your friends or family? Shouldn't you be worried too?"

The boy looked at her as if she was deranged, "Why should I be worried? Shinn jumped after Stellar, didn't he? He takes care of her all the time, so I didn't have to worry about her.

Besides, she's capable of looking out for herself. She's an idiot sometimes but she fights real well! Especially with knives."

Sakuno was completely lost now. She had no idea what the boy was talking about.

She asked, "Eh… so… S-stellar was alright because someone… ano… Shinn… took care of her?"

The boy clapped his hands, "You got it! Well, you're not as stupid as I thought."

Sakuno blushed with pleasure at this absurd praise.

They had totally forgotten what she was asking in the beginning now and the conversation turned into the boy's complaints about these people he knew.

Sakuno also seemed to miss the words that stood out disturbingly from the boy's conversation. Words such as, 'fight' and 'knives'.

Still, if Miyu was here, she would just shake her head and say, "It would just be like Sakuno to totally miss the point."

The boy, for Sakuno still did not know his name, not that they realized it because the boy also did not realize he did not know his companion's name, started to fidget.

He got up and said, "Let's go to the game centre!"

He did not act as if he was a stranger to these areas and Sakuno did not remember that he had said that he was lost in this place.

The two of them just got up and went outside the fast-food shop and started off in one direction before they realized that they did not know where the game centre was.

The boy did not know because this was his first time in the area and Sakuno did not know because she did not go to game centers.

The boy said, "Say, where's the game centre?"

Sakuno was taken aback again, "Eh… I don't know. I've never been there."

The boy looked annoyed, "Huh? Not been to the game centre before? What are you? Odd?"

Sakuno looked insulted, very rare for her and she defended herself, "Well, I don't like to games like those ones at the game centre and my friends don't go. What's wrong with that, mou!"

She looked as if she might leave and the boy very quickly smiled his winning smile and said, "Ah! Warui, warui! Don't go! It's boring with no one else. Ne, let's go to the game centre, ne, ne?" ('Warui' can be used to mean 'my bad')

Sakuno looked at him with an injured look and the boy continued to smile sweetly at her. She said, "Then you won't be nasty and say that I'm odd again?"

The boy said, "I promise, ne? Let's go!" His voice turned into a bit of a whine and when Sakuno nodded, he grinned and then said, "So, where's the game centre… let me ask someone…"

He looked around and saw a few punks by the side of the street. His face lighted up and he said to Sakuno, "Wait here. I'll go and ask those people."

Sakuno said, "But they look really scary? Let's ask someone else, ne?"

The boy chuckled, "Scary? Nah, they're just pretending. I can tell, wait here. Don't go!" With that, he hopped off and Sakuno could do nothing but stand where she was and wait for him.

The boy stopped in front of these punks with their strange hair in spikes and odd colors and tattoos and cigarettes.

In Sakuno's eyes, they looked large and mean. In the boy's eyes, they looked like toys.

He said, "Hey, you there! Tell me where the game centre is! Oh, by the way, I need some money!"

He did not forget that he had no money. While he did not mind Sakuno paying for him, he also thought that she did not look rich and it would be better to have some in his own pockets in case she ran out.

He had not been brought up to feel thankful for much and when he could take advantage, he did.

The punks looked incredulous at this pretty lad who was smiling up at them. They did not notice the dangerous sparkle in his pale eyes.

One of them caught hold of the boy's shirt and dragged him close, "Huh? Kid, who'd ya think ya're talkin' to? Huh?"

The boy sighed and said, "I was under orders not to cause a scene but don't push me. Tell me where the game centre is and hand over your money."

The punk let go of the boy's shirt and looked at his mates, "He's a cracker. Let's go ov'r to the alley. Show 'im his place."

The boy was annoyed but he brightened up when he thought that in the alley, there would be no one to see and he could have some fun.

He personally did not care if he caused a scene but he promised Kaasan that he would be a good boy. The punks started to push him towards the dark alley nearby and he went willingly.

Sakuno was shocked and scared and she rushed up and pulled at one of the punk's arm, "W-where are you taking him? P-please let him go!"

The punk looked down and shoved Sakuno away, not thinking her pretty enough to worth his attention, "What's yar problem, ya bch? Huh?"

The boy did not care for people but this girl had been nice to him, though he thought that she was stupid.

He did not suffer to see his companions being shoved around like that. For the time being, he considered this girl his companion and thus, he was much angered.

He flicked his arm free of another punk's hold and went to Sakuno side. He lifted her up and said, "I'll be fine, just stay here and wait. I'll be really quick, ne?"

Sakuno tried to protest, "B-but…" The boy said firmly, "Listen to me! Stay here and wait for me!"

His tone was authoritative and Sakuno nodded. She stood up with his help and he went off into the alley with the punks.

Once they were in the shadows in the alley, his expression turned dangerous.

He said, "You should've just told me what I wanted to know and handed over the money. Now, you've made me angry."

He smiled cruelly and the punks were suddenly scared.

888888

Sakuno waited anxiously and she thought that maybe she should get the police but the boy told her to wait.

She instinctively trusted him because she could feel that he really did have confidence in his abilities to handle the matter. However, her logical mind told her that was impossible.

How could such pretty boy deal with those large and aggressive punks? Still, her heart told her that he was not lying and she waited.

Soon, she saw the boy come out from the alley. He was smiling happily. Not a hair was out of place and she ran to him, crying with relief, "You're alright! A-are you hurt? What did they do?"

The boy was extremely surprised when he saw that she was really crying, just because she was so worried for him. His heart felt a rare warmth that he only felt when kaasan was petting him on the head.

He grinned a child's grin and said, "I'm fine. They told me where the game centre is! Let's go!"

He grabbed Sakuno's wrist and marched off, dragging her after him.

She was so surprised that she forgot her tears and wanted to call out to tell him to slow down. It was then that she realized she did not know his name.

She called out, "Ne, my name's Sakuno, Ryuzaki Sakuno! What's yours?"

The boy looked back at her and grinned, "Auel, Auel Neider, Sakuno!"

Sakuno did not know and would never have guessed but back in the dark alley, the punks were lying in a bloody heap, moaning in pain and shock.

No, she did not know and probably would never know.


	2. Games and Groceries

_Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from The Prince of Tennis or Gundam Seed Destiny_

**Chapter Two: Games and Groceries **

"Yay! They have the newest shooting game that I wanted to play!" exclaimed Auel as soon as he stepped into the game centre.

Sakuno followed him tentatively. She had never been inside a game centre and she looked around curiously.

It was a bright and colorful place with lots of shining and sparkling machines. It was also a very noisy place, full of teenagers, both boys and girls.

Some were sitting at the machines, playing different kinds of games.

Some were at the soft-toy pick-up machines.

Others were scattered around playing other games.

Auel pulled her to change tokens with the money he got earlier.

Sakuno did not notice that he had said he did not have foreign exchange. She was too busy looking around.

After Auel had gotten a small pile of tokens; it appeared that he had amassed a small fortune from those punks, he went to one of machines that he had been ohhing and ahhing about.

He was still pulling Sakuno after him. He was holding onto her like he was holding a favorite toy but neither of them noticed.

There was already another guy playing the game that Auel wanted to play and he pouted.

He wanted to play immediately but he had to be good and wait his turn. That was what his kaasan had told him and he did not like it.

He still was not quite sure what a good boy meant and he thought that as long as he did not kill or maim someone, that was probably alright.

Still, he wanted to be sure and he turned to ask Sakuno, "Oi, if I punch this guy, does that mean that I am being a bad boy?"

Sakuno was shocked, "Hitting people is not good, Auel-kun!"

Auel sighed, "I guess… but I want to play"

Sakuno looked at his disappointed face and tried to cheer him up, "Ano ne, Auel-kun, maybe we can play something else first. What is there in this place?"

Auel looked at her, "Oh yeah! You haven't been in a game centre before! I suppose I will have to show you around."

Even though he sounded exasperated, he looked somewhat pleased with himself.

He liked showing off and since he was forbidden to show off his fighting skills, he supposed that showing off his knowledge of game centers would do just as well for the time being.

Sakuno thought that he was such a sweet boy. She wondered if this was what having a little brother would be like.

She had always wanted a little brother or sister for her to mother and take care of. She liked being indulgent.

Though, she did think that some of things that Auel said were somewhat a bit odd, she did like him. He was so full of life and so happy and easy to please. Also, he was so eager to do things.

It was so different from her usual attitude to things. She usually waited for other people to make decisions for her while he just did and said what he wanted. It was so refreshing!

Sakuno smiled, "Arigatou, Auel-kun!"

Auel looked at her strangely. He did not understand why she was thanking him. If she was thankful for him showing her around, then she must be easily pleased.

Auel thought, "Are all normal girls this weird? Of maybe the ones I know are normal and this one is the strange one."

Since it was not in his nature to think too much, he shrugged off the question and went around the game centre grandly, pointing to this and that.

He told her of having played this game and that game and how he beat Sting at this and how Sting won that. He said that shooting games were almost as fun as the real thing.

Sakuno did not understand what he might mean by that but she let it go because Auel was so animated in his talk that she did not want to disturb him with questions.

He laughed when he saw the punching game.

He pointed to it and said, "Ne, Neo and Kaasan once took Stellar, Shinn, Mayu, Sting and I to a really big game centre and there was this really cool punching game.

Shinn, Sting and I all tried it of course and Stellar saw us playing and wanted to try too. In the end, she hit it so hard that the whole thing broke down!"

Sakuno gasped, "Really? What did you do?"

Auel grinned, "Well, we ran of course. We all heard the thing broke and Neo went, 'Run!'. It was so funny!

Stellar had no idea why we had to run and kept wanting to play again. Neo said that he's never taking us into any game centre again."

Sakuno said, "You must be unhappy over that, Auel-kun. You like the game centre a lot, don't you?"

Auel grinned, "Hehe, Neo didn't really mean it. He likes to go to game centers too. The very next day, he took Sting and me to another game centre in town. We didn't take Stellar though."

Sakuno giggled. Auel was also strange and different from everyone she knew. She thought that perhaps it was because he was from overseas. After all, Ryoma-kun was from overseas and he was a bit strange too, sometimes.

She wondered about these people he had talked about. They seemed to be very interesting and different as well.

Maybe they were his brothers and sisters?

He mentioned 'kaasan' but what about 'tousan'? However, she did not want to ask because it might be a painful question.

Auel stopped beside a soft-toy pick-up machine and said, "Hey, let me pick a toy for you! Shinn always does that for Stellar and Mayu always went after Sting to go for her. I guess girls like these things."

Sakuno giggled and nodded, "En, a lot of girls like it, especially when the person who is doing it is someone they really like."

Auel said, "What do you mean? Someone they really like? You mean like Shinn and Stellar? Or Neo and Kaasan?"

Sakuno answered, "I don't know your friends but em… someone you really like is eh… someone you want to be with all the time."

Auel still looked somewhat clueless so Sakuno tried again, "Em… it is someone very special to you and the thought of leaving that person makes your heart feel as if it is breaking in two."

She was remembering the time when she liked Ryoma-kun and her eyes grew distant. She did not have time to really think a lot though because Auel was already speaking again.

Auel pondered as much as he was able to ponder, "En… I don't really get it but I guess it's like Shinn and Stellar then because Stellar never wants Shinn to go home after he comes to visit us.

She would look really sad and Shinn would have to say a lot of nice things and promises before she would let go of him."

Sakuno smiled, "I guess that is it."

It was strange being so open with this strange boy she had just met. She was usually rather shy around strangers and yet she was speaking to him normally.

Probably it was because he was so forceful and direct that she had no time to be shy. Also, it was because he looked so innocent. She again thought if it was what having a younger brother would be like.

Auel broke into her thoughts again, "Anyway, let me get a toy for you! I've never played this before! Oh, yeah, I can also get one for Kaasan! Do you think she'd be happy?"

Sakuno nodded, "En, I think she'd be very happy that you thought of her. A lot of people wouldn't do that now. Get a toy just for their mother."

Really, Auel was more like a child than a teenager but she remembered Miyu had said that all boys were more like children.

She was much impressed with Miyu's wisdom about the world. She would never have known such things.

Auel beamed and he excitedly peered into the machine to check out the toys.

Sakuno watched his happy face and wondered about the kaasan he so lovingly mentioned. It was not in his tone or anything but it was in his attitude. It was a free and open attitude that she had not encountered before.

She did not know anyone boy who would be so open and affectionate when they talked about their mothers. She liked it that Auel did not mind showing the world that he loved his mother and was willing to do little things for her.

She suddenly hoped that someday her child would be like that. She hoped that her child would be like Auel and still had a certain innocence around him when her child was his age.

She thought that Auel's mother must be a very happy woman with a son like Auel. He was now thinking aloud about what his kaasan might like. It was somewhat charming and Sakuno thought maybe it was the reason for her feeling so comfortable with him, he was like a child and she had always liked children.

Auel slipped a coin into the slot and went to work with the controls.

Sakuno was very much impressed when he successfully picked up a toy and quickly dropped it into the tray where it would slide towards the opening where they could get it.

She remembered him saying that he had not played this type of machine before.

Auel picked the toy out and grinned at her, "Hora, this is easy. Here, you take it!"

Sakuno accepted the toy and smiled, "Thanks, Auel-kun. This is really cute." It was a sweet little bear with a small bow around its neck.

Auel grinned and turned to the machine again, "The next one's for Kaasan!" He was certainly very good and he very quickly had another toy in his hands.

However, by that time, he had found this machine to be too easy and was bored again. He looked to see if the game he wanted to play with free and when he saw the guy still at it, he frowned.

Then suddenly he looked as if he remembered something Sting and Neo had once done when they had gotten tired of waiting their turn.

He grinned and unceremoniously took Sakuno's hand and dragged her across the game centre. Sakuno was actually getting used to being pulled around by this strange boy and she thought that maybe she ought to protest.

Then she thought of his happy face and thought, "Oh well, never mind."

They stopped at that shooting game as before and suddenly, the guy who had been playing the game collapsed.

Auel exclaimed, "Oh no, he's fainted!"

Then while the people in the game centre had taken him off to the hospital or whatever place it might be, Auel hopped before the machine and slipped in some coins and started playing.

Sakuno was baffled. She had the feeling that something had happened but she did not know what it had been.

Then her attention was caught by Auel who was playing the game remarkably well. He had not missed any target at all.

People started to notice and soon there was a small crowd around them.

Auel was not affected by them at all and Sakuno watched with awe as he passed level after level. It was his first time too!

She did not play these games and would not know if he was amazingly good or if this was normal. Still she saw Auel's face and it was wickedly joyful, as if he was in the game itself and shooting real people.

Sakuno felt a bit uneasy at the thought and she pushed it to the back of her mind. How could she think like that about such a sweet boy? She shook her head to clear her mind a bit.

The people around them were watching in awe as Auel got to the last level.

He did not seem to notice anything apart from hitting all the targets on the screen in front of him. Soon, he fired one last time and there was noisy music as the game was cleared and the credits started to roll.

Auel put down the 'gun' and pouted, "Che, it is too easy! And the magazine made it out to be so amazing too! I'm going to tell Sting not to bother, it's way too simple. All the targets were out in plain sight and they moved so slowly too!"

Sakuno chuckled when she heard him complain. Auel looked at her, "What now?"

She answered him, "I was thinking that you played so well but still you're not pleased. It reminded me of some of my friends from school. They play tennis very well but always they are looking for higher goals."

Auel said, "Tennis? Is that fun?"

Sakuno was about to answer when some of the people who had been watching Auel play the game shouldered her aside and exclaim excitedly to Auel, "Wow, that was amazing! Where'd you learn to play like that? Can you teach us? You are so cool!"

Sakuno rubbed her shoulder. She was used to being ignored like this, partly because she was shy and partly because she was so short.

Auel did not like what he saw though.

It reminded him of days when he was much smaller and people could still knock him around. It also reminded him of Stellar who rarely noticed where she was heading and people just walked by and shouldered her aside.

He ignored what the people were saying and pushed past them to Sakuno.

He caught hold of her wrist again, "Mou, you're so slow! Come on, let's go somewhere else. This place is boring. If Sting's here, I can play against him but since he's not, let's go."

He started to pull Sakuno towards the entrance but the people who had been watching him play did not like being ignored.

One of them stepped forward and put a heavy hand on Auel's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

He said, "Hey, we were talking to you, gaki! How dare you put on airs just because you play one game well! You probably cheated too!"

Auel was angry now. He turned his head slowly, let go of Sakuno and clamped his hand around the guy's wrist. He said slowly, "Don't touch me, you filthy piece of rubbish!"

He hated people touching him and ordering him around like that. Who did they think they were?

If they were smart, they would back off immediately but evidently they were idiots.

The guy wanted to shake Auel's hand off but he could not. He did not know that he was dealing with a kid who used to kill for a living. He grunted with pain.

Sakuno looked back and forth between the guy and Auel worriedly.

She said, "Auel-kun, let's go, ne? I want to go now, Auel-kun?"

Auel heard her and reluctantly clamped down hard on the guy's wrist one last time.

He would have liked to break the damned thing but he remembered that he had promised to be a good boy and a good boy did not break people's bones.

He let go and the guy fell back with a whine, nursing his wrist. The other people did not know what had happened but they felt uneasy and did not stop Auel and Sakuno again as they left the game centre.

When they were out in the street again, Auel said, "Sakuno, what else is there to do? I'm bored"

Sakuno thought and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear! I almost forgot that I have to go grocery shopping today! I need to get some supplies to make curry for tonight's dinner!"

Auel said, "Huh? You need to go shopping?"

Sakuno smiled sheepishly at him and nodded. Auel whined, "But I hate shopping"

Sakuno thought so, she might not have spent a lot of time with boys but she could imagine that such an active boy such as Auel would not be happy at the prospect of tagging after her when she was doing grocery shopping.

The image brought to mind was one of a little boy with a mother in the supermarket with the little boy asking every few minutes, "Can we go? Can we go?"

She almost chuckled but managed to stop. She did not want to upset Auel.

She said, "Maybe you want to go back to your family now? I really need to get some groceries, Auel-kun."

Auel pouted, "Huh But I don't want to go back now"

Sakuno said, "Well, you can always come along with me if you want."

Auel's face fell, "Oh alright I'll come along, but don't take too long! I still want to go and do something fun!"

Sakuno said, "Okay but I'll have to take the groceries home first."

Auel's face lit up immediately, "Yay! I want to see where you live!"

Sakuno shook her head, "I can't let you come into the house with me, Auel-kun. I'm staying with some friends and they are not at home today. It would be very bad of me if I let someone they don't know into their house without them being there."

Auel looked annoyed and Sakuno continued, "But you can wait outside for me, ne? After that we can go and think of something fun to do."

Auel had to be content with that because he could tell that Sakuno was firm about not letting him into the house.

Without them noticing, Sakuno was actually treating him like a little boy now and had unknowingly used a firmer tone of voice than the one she usually used with her peers.

That was the main reason why Auel did not press because he somehow responded to that firm tone.

It was not an ordering tone or he would have gotten annoyed immediately even without knowing why.

It was also not a patronizing tone because Sakuno probably would not know how to patronize if it meant her life.

It was a tone that simply stated that she was firm about what she was saying.

Thus, the two of them set off to the supermarket.

This time, it was Sakuno who was in the lead though, not that they would have noticed, the two of them being them as it was.


End file.
